Drones with sensors used in insurance applications

ABSTRACT

Drones are engineered with sensors for use in insurance applications. After locating an object of interest, a drone performs an investigation by probing the object of interest. Sensors receive feedback from the object of interest. An electronic fingerprint of the drone is produced. Afterward, perils are computed based on the feedback and the fingerprint of the drone is used in insuring the object of interest. The act of probing includes thumping, drumming, or radiating ultrasound waves against the object of interest. The sensors can be turned off when they are within a geographic zone of prohibited operations.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.15/002,103, filed Jan. 20, 2016, which application further claimspriority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/107,167, filed Jan. 23, 2015; the contents of both of which as areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter is generally related to drones, and moreparticularly, it relates to drones with engineered sensors for use ininsurance applications.

BACKGROUND

A drone is an aircraft without an onboard human pilot. Drones can beautonomous or remotely piloted, the flight of either of which iscontrolled by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot onthe ground or in a vehicle. There are many uses for drones, primarilymilitary, but a small and growing number are used in civil applications,such as policing and firefighting, as well as non-military security workincluding inspection of power or pipelines.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features ofthe claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid indetermining the scope of the claimed subject matter. One aspect of thepresent subject matter recites a drone which comprises a body; wingsconnected to a top of the body; propellers coupled to the wings;parallel sets of landing gear connected to a bottom of the body; aninsulator structure interfaced to the bottom of the body which is setbetween the sets of landing gear; and a thumping structure coupled tothe insulator structure.

Another aspect of the present subject matter recites another drone whichcomprises a body; wings connected to a top of the body; propellerscoupled to the wings; parallel sets of landing gear connected to abottom of the body; a slidable cylindrical structure coupled to thebottom of the body which is set between the sets of landing gear; and apiezoelectric transducer for emanating ultrasound waves directed towardan object of interest. A further aspect of the present subject matterrecites a method which comprises landing a drone so that its landinggear contacts an object of interest; lengthening a rod through a set ofhollow elements attached to the drone so that a terminus of the rodcontacts the object of interest; causing the terminus of the rod to actagainst the object of interest; receiving by sensors some feedback fromthe object of interest; creating an electronic fingerprint of the drone;storing the feedback and the fingerprint of the drone in memory; andcomputing perils based on the feedback and the fingerprint of the droneused in insuring the object of interest.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of thisinvention will become more readily appreciated as the same become betterunderstood by reference to 20 the following detailed description, whentaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an environment in which an archetypicaldrone operates with hardware structures executing software and/orhardware logic blocks;

FIG. 2 is an isometric diagram illustrating a front of an archetypicaldrone;

FIG. 3 is a planar diagram illustrating a front of an archetypicaldrone;

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating pieces of hardwareconnected with an archetypical thumping structure;

FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating pieces of hardwareconnected with an archetypical thumping structure;

FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional diagram illustrating pieces of hardwareconnected with an archetypical thumping structure;

FIG. 3D is another cross-sectional diagram illustrating a side view ofpieces of hardware connected with an archetypical thumping structure;

FIG. 3E is an isometric diagram illustrating pieces of hardwareconnected with a thumping structure;

FIG. 4 is a planar diagram illustrating a front of another archetypicaldrone;

FIG. 5 is a planar diagram illustrating a front of a furtherarchetypical drone;

FIG. 6 is a planar diagram illustrating a top of an archetypical drone;and

FIG. 7 is a planar diagram illustrating a bottom of an archetypicaldrone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates operation of a drone 100 on an object of interest,such as a roof 200. Various archetypical drones including the drone 100are engineered with sensors including digital cameras and/or thermalcameras, to sense the object of interest, in accordance with variousembodiments. These sensors include heat sensors, ambient environmentsensors (detecting light, moisture, temperature), sound sensors, airquality sensors, chemical sensors, roof sensors, infrared sensors,ultrasound sensors, MRI sensors, radar sensors, property sensors,biosensors (mold sensors, virus sensors including Ebola detectors),status sensors (voltage levels, cybersecurity level, and motion), liDarsensors (three-dimensional mapping and autonomous vehicle tracking), andso on. These sensors detect events or changes in quantities and providea corresponding output, generally as an electrical or optical or audiosignal. There are three categories of output for the drone 100 includingdirectly transmitting sensor data; storing sensor data within the memoryof the drone 100; and the drone 100 reacts or adapts based on hardwarelogic based on sensor data.

The sensors in a few embodiments use micro-machineries ormicrocontrollers to execute applications beyond temperature, pressure,or flow measurement. In one embodiment, analog sensors such aspotentiometers and force-sensing resistors are used. A sensor'ssensitivity indicates how much the sensor's output changes when theinput quantity being measured changes. Not shown is a server being apart of a cloud network, which is communicatively coupled to the drone100. The server associates the drone 100 to the object of interest so asto orchestrate hardware logic or software algorithm to sense the objectof interest and to compute perils based on the sensed feedback. Some ofthe peril computations include x-ray fluorescent spectroscopy, ramenspectroscopy, and so on. FIG. 1 illustrates the drone 100 operating byitself, but in other embodiments a group of drones works together toperform tasks as orchestrated by the server, and in yet otherembodiments each member of the group of drones performs different tasksbut is functionally complimentary to the group of drones.

Drones with roof sensors, such as the drone 100, can land on the roof200 with mechanical landing gear. The mechanical landing gearfacilitates the drone 100 with roof sensors to traverse the roof 200 soas to thump the roof 200 or to drum the roof or to emit electromagneticradiation or audio radiation of which the reflected feedback is sensedby the roof sensors. The data sensed by the roof sensors undergoescomputational analytics to detect meaningful patterns to measureintegrity of the roof structure or the overall structure or themechanical components of the roof 200. The drone 100 with roof sensorscan test different spots of the roof 200. A drone with infrared sensorscan test roof components to determine the amount of heat that they couldwithstand for integrity analysis. For example, hail-damaged roofs mayhave a different amount of heat that they could withstand. A drone withinfrared sensors can be used in an energy audit insurance application todetect the presence of insulation or whether and where a buildingenvelope has been breached. A drone with property sensors has patternrecognition software running on a microprocessor so as to constrain tosurveying a specific piece of property of interest in one embodiment,and in one other embodiment, the sensors are constrained so as to surveythe neighboring pieces of property near the specific piece of propertyof interest. The property sensors have authentication software to ensurethat the drone is surveying the specific piece of property of interest.In all embodiments, the drones with sensors are engineered to operateonly within the geographic zone of permitted operations. In other words,the sensors of the drones are turned off when it is within a geographiczone of prohibited operations.

The drones with sensors, such as the drone 100, are engineered to beelectronically registered for identification, tracking, and managementpurposes. These drones have user interfaces to communicate intentions,namely, to send probe signals and receive feedback in insuranceapplications. These drones with sensors can be selected to deploy ininsured construction projects to check safety (e.g., whether hard hatsare being used); check construction progress; check whether suitableengineering construction quality is adhered to; and so on. These droneswith sensors can be selected to deploy to measure physical shifts inlandscape, taking unstructured pixels and structuring them. These droneswith sensors can be selected to deploy in disaster recovery or foroperation as just-in-time suppliers; and in such an embodiment, thedrone 100 is fitted with means for delivering a payload, such asmechanical claws. These drones with sensors can be selected to deployinternationally to monitor traffic in and out of a port; hours of portoperation; quantity of containers; and port facilities. These droneswith sensors can be selected to deploy to insure amusement parks. Thesedrones with sensors can be selected for deployment to survey crops,combining crop data, economic data, and meteorological data to analyzecrop risk. These drones with sensors facilitate risk to be calculatednot only for insureds but also risks of others. These drones withsensors can be selected for deployment in claims inspections of burnedbuildings, asbestos investigations, chemical spills, and so on. Thesedrones with sensors can be selected for deployment to collect data so asto reconstruct an explosion scene, an automobile accident, a wildfire inprogress, a spectral analysis of fire, and so on. These drones withsensors can be selected to deploy for home inspections and/or homerepair applications.

These drones with sensors, including the drone 100, can be selected fordeployment to assess risk in insuring airspace above a piece ofproperty. These drones with sensors have identification technologies tointroduce themselves to those whom they are flying over. These droneswith sensors have intention technologies to alert others that they areflying overhead and then afterward leave drone fingerprints behind. Invarious embodiments, the fingerprints of a drone are queried datastructures extracted from records within a database to facilitate aco-located chain of evidence within an image or video (including datatypes about an airframe of the drone, the aircraft, the pilotthree-dimensional location data, and so on); data types that can be usedto organize imagery; data types suitable for use in analysis andreporting of the imagery which is cross-referenced with aircraft andpilot information; and so on. In some embodiments, the queried datastructures are in a suitable standard format for ease of communicationamong insurance carriers; businesses; insureds; vendor partners; pilots;operators; manufacturers; and so on. The queried data structures includethe following fields: 5-Digit Exemption Number; COA Number; FAA TailfinNumber; Operator/Pilot License Number; Airframe Make; Airframe Model;Airframe Serial Number; Flight Navigational System Make; FlightNavigational Model; Flight Navigational Version; Flight NavigationFirmware Version; Altitude; Speed; Heading; Image Number Over TotalNumber of Images; and so on. In one embodiment, in addition to thedescribed fields are the Exif Data generated by a digital camera. Inanother embodiment, these fields are embedded into each captured imageas metadata. In all embodiments, the fingerprints of the drone arestored in the memory of the drone or on a server of a cloud network. Inanother embodiment, electronic fingerprints of the object comprising thesensed feedback received by the sensors on the drone are also stored inthe memory of the drone or on a server of a cloud network.

These drones with sensors have secure technologies to operate in areaswhere they could facilitate a digital handshake. These drones withsensors have collision avoidance software. These drones with sensorscollect data to augment or replace actuarial modeling. These drones withsensors can be selected for deployment to assess marine point liabilityincluding crane operation, movement of cargo, cars, and verification ofdata provided by insureds. These drones with sensors can be selected fordeployment to high risk areas to gather data prior to the pricing ofinsurance policies. These drones with sensors can be selected fordeployment to take a core sample of a roof. These drones with sensorscan be selected for deployment to analyze vibration energy applied to aroof. These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment to detectmold. These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment toprovide periodic check-ups of a roof. These drones with sensors can beselected for deployment to analyze the risk connected with droneoperator certification by assessing the risk of operators of drones.These drones with sensors can be selected to analyze the risk ofcybersecurity at a specific building by flying to the building; obtainpermission from a server on a cloud network to gather network statusdata, WiFi security and other data that is indicative of cybersecurityrisk; and sensing a location of hacking activities, such as in a parkinglot in proximity to the building. These drones with sensors can beselected for deployment to emit radar to detect drones.

These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment to assess riskof a damaged building, facets of a roof to estimate damage or size,parapets, HVAC on top of buildings, chimneys, and other mechanicalcomponents in dangerous, hard to reach locations. These drones withsensors can be selected for deployment to assess risk connected withhard to reach property such as a feed shed on a farm, grain silo with noladder, and so on. These drones with sensors can be selected fordeployment to provide quick estimation of severity. These drones withsensors can be selected for deployment to triage claims and/or damage.These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment to assesslogistical information, which is fluidly collected including informationsuch as which roads are open, closed, the presence of emergencyresponse, the presence of ongoing damage, and so on. These drones withsensors can be selected for deployment to provide reconnaissance ofassets. These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment toassess risk to large assets including skyscrapers, bridges, farms, grainsilos, cruise ships, aviation assets, railroad, power and energystructures, mines, and so on. These drones with sensors can be selectedfor deployment to reconstruct an accident scene involving vehicles.These drones with sensors can be selected for deployment to determinetype of trees on an identified piece of property as well as theirhealth.

FIGS. 2-7 illustrate several archetypical drones. Similar hardwareelements contain identical nomenclature for brevity purposes. Not showninclude drones that are a hybrid of quadcopter and fixed wing. FIG. 2illustrates the drone 100. The drone 100 includes a body 104 extendingfrom which are four wings and to which four propellers 102A-102D areattached. Supporting the body 104 so that the drone 100 is elevated froma landing are sets of landing gear 106A and 106B, whose height issuitably chosen so that a thumping structure 112 when lengthened maycontact a surface of an object of interest, such as the roof 200. Thelanding gear 106A is coupled to skids 108A and 108B. The landing gear106B is coupled to skids 108C and 108D. These skids 108A-108D arerunners to prevent the drone 100 from skidding on landing. The bottom ofthe body 104 of the drone 100 is interfaced to an insulator structure110. The insulator structure 110 is coupled to a thumping structure 112.

Regarding FIG. 3 , the insulator structure 110 includes three layersincluding an insulator layer 110A, an insulator layer 110B, and aninsulator layer 110C. These insulator layers 110A-110C are fastenedtogether by several O-shaped bolts 116A-116D. The O-shaped bolts116A-116D hold the insulator layers 110A-110C together via nuts114A-114D and lugs 118A-118D. The insulator layers 110A-110C isolate thedrone 100 from a source of thumping, namely, the thumping structure 112,using passive isolation. Any suitable passive isolators may be used tomanufacture the insulator layers 110A-110C including without limitselastomers; rubber; cork; dense foam; laminate materials;negative-stiffness isolators; wire rope isolators; base isolators; andtuned mass dampers.

The insulator structure 110 interfaces with an interfaced layer 120. Theinterfaced layer 120 acts as a supporting joint to the thumpingstructure 112. Emerging beyond the thumping structure 112 is a thumpingbody 112A. The thumping structure 112 is shown in a lengthened positionin FIG. 3 . The thumping body 112A lengthens from a thumping rod 130,through the set of elongated, rigid thumping hollow elements 122A-122B,and terminates in the C-shaped thumping terminus 112B. The thumpinghollow elements 122A-122B include an outermost thumping hollow element122A and an innermost thumping hollow element 122B. The outermostthumping hollow element 122A is secured to the interfaced layer 120. Theset of elongated, rigid thumping hollow elements 122A-122B have alignedlongitudinal axes and successively decreasing transverse dimensions tofacilitate each of the thumping hollow elements 122A-122B to axiallyslide therebetween. The set of thumping hollow elements 122A-122B arealso hollow to permit the thumping body 112A to pass through the insideof the set of thumping hollow elements 122A-122B. The outermost thumpinghollow element 122A has the largest transverse dimension and issecurable to the interface layer 120. The innermost thumping hollowelement 122B has the smallest transverse dimension and is axiallymoveable relative to the outermost thumping hollow element 122A.

FIGS. 3A-3E illustrate the thumping structure 112 in greater detail. Asdiscussed in previous figures, the interface layer 120 is provided toact as a supporting joint between the body 104 and the thumpingstructure 120. An annular keeper 124A on the outermost thumping hollowelement 122A abuts an annular follower on the innermost thumping hollowelement 122B to prevent the innermost thumping hollow element 122B fromsliding away from the outermost thumping hollow element 122A when thethumping body 112A lengthens. An annular keeper 124B on the thumpingbody 112A, which is fitted into another annular follower of theinnermost thumping hollow element 122B, facilitates the sliding of theinnermost thumping hollow element 122B into the outermost thumpinghollow element 122A when the thumping body 112A shortens into the set ofthumping hollow elements 122A, 122B. In one embodiment, to conserveweight of the drone 100, a battery is suitably placed into the thumpingbody 112, from which D.C. voltage or current is provided to operate thedrone 100.

The thumping body 112A finishes at its proximal end with a C-shapedthumping terminus 112B. The thumping body 112A is coupled to a thumpingrod 130 of which the distal end finishes with a thumping stop 132. Thethumping rod 130 facilitates the lengthening or shortening of thethumping body 112A depending on the motion of a second wheel 140B, whichis in communication with a first wheel 140A via a timing belt 138. Thefirst wheel 140A is actuated by a shaft 136 which is in communicationwith a vermiculate device 134. Stabilizing pieces of hardware include amotion fixture 126A, a projecting beam 128B, and a fixture 128A, all ofwhich act to stabilize the thumping structure 112 when motion isgenerated to allow the thumping body 112A to thump the C-shaped thumpingterminus 112B against an object of interest.

More specifically, the thumping rod 130 is caused to advance thethumping body 112A longitudinally so as to lengthen it or to withdrawthe thumping body 112A and thereby shorten it vis-a-vis the frictionengagement of a driving roller 142A and a corresponding driven roller142B to the thumping rod 130. For example, to lengthen the thumping body112A out of the body 104 or to shorten the thumping body 112A into thebody 104, several pieces of hardware are provided including a motor 144;a pair of driving roller 142A and a corresponding driven roller 142B forlengthening/shortening the thumping rod 130; and a means fortransferring a force from the motor 144 to the driving roller 142A and acorresponding driven roller 142B. The force transferring means includesthe vermiculate device 134, a vermiculate gear 134A, and a pulleyarrangement including first and second wheels 140A and 140B as well asthe timing belt 138. The timing belt 138 is suitably constructed ofrubber.

When the motor 144 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise about a firstaxis, the vermiculate device 134 rotates on the same axis. Then, thevermiculate gear 134A rotates in engagement with the vermiculate device134. The vermiculate gear 134A rotates about a second axis; the firstwheel 140A about the second axis spaced from the vermiculate gear 134Aby the shaft 136. Then, a pulley arrangement comprising the first wheel140A transfers a force to the second wheel 140B through the timing belt138. Rotation of the second wheel 140B leads to rotation of the drivingroller 142A about a third axis, while the driven roller 142B rotatesabout a fourth axis in contact with the driving roller 142A. That is,the force of the motor 144 is transferred to the driving roller 142A andthe driven roller 142B, to thereby lengthen/shorten the thumping body112A.

In one embodiment, the motor 144 is an imbalanced-mass motor, which whenactivated produces a thumping motion which is communicated to thethumping rod 130, which correspondingly communicates to the thumpingbody 112A, and ultimately to the C-shaped thumping terminus 112B.Vibrational sensors (not shown) receive low-frequency feedback from anobject of interest, which has earlier been thumped by the thumpingstructure 112. The feedback is electronically stored forcharacterization of the object of interest, such as a roof, to determineits aging characteristics, among other things.

FIG. 4 illustrates an additional drone which contains elements similarto those previously discussed, and for brevity purposes they will not bepresented again. FIG. 4 illustrates a thumping structure 412. Thethumping structure 412 includes thumping hollow elements 422A-422D.Extending beyond the thumping hollow element 422D is a thumping terminus412A, which ends in a chisel-like tip. The chisel-like tip facilitatesdrumming on an object of interest, from which feedback is received bythe vibrational sensors for storage and later characterization.

FIG. 5 illustrates another archetypical drone with elements similar tothose elements previously discussed, and for brevity purposes, they willnot again be presented. A slidable cylindrical structure 512 isillustrated in FIG. 5 . Several slidable hollow elements 522A-522C areillustrated. Extending beyond the slidable hollow element 522C is apiezoelectric transducer 512A for generating an ultrasound wave. Sensorsreceive echoes of the generated ultrasound wave. Means of interpretingthe received echoes are provided either on the drone or remotely at acomputer server with which the drone is in communication.

The piezoelectric transducer 512A emanates a desired frequency of theultrasound wave after the drone produces strong, short electrical pulsesto drive the piezoelectric transducer 512A. The frequencies can beanywhere between 1 and 18 MHz. The piezoelectric transducer 512A mayfocus the beam of ultrasound waves with physical lenses in someembodiments. In other embodiments, the piezoelectric transducer 512Auses a phased array to facilitate a change in the direction and depth offocus of the ultrasound wave. Suitable materials on the face of thepiezoelectric transducer 512A enable the ultrasound waves to betransmitted into the object of interest. One suitable material includesa rubbery coating for impedance matching to maximize the receipt ofechoes so as to inhibit their attenuation. In addition, the drone mayspray water-based foam or gel on the object of interest prior toemanating the ultrasound waves. The echoes of the ultrasound waves arepartially reflected from the layers of the object of interest.Specifically, echoes are reflected anywhere where there are acousticimpedance changes in the object of interest including roof materials,nails, insulation, and so on.

One insurance application of the use of multimedia data obtained fromdrones with sensors includes assessment of perils in auto insuranceclaims. The drones with sensors may be used to access a trafficcollision to assess property damage, bodily injury, and so on. They maybe used to track and/or identify a stolen automobile so as to assesstheft losses and so on. Another insurance application is the use ofmultimedia data obtained from drones with sensors to detect fraudulentclaims in property damage, accident, sickness, and unemploymentinsurance. They can be used to verify the fitness of the claimant indisability insurance (short-term disability insurance or long-termdisability insurance), total permanent disability insurance, or workers'compensation insurance. Another insurance application includes the useto monitor perils for casualty insurance, such as crime insurance, andpolitical risk insurance (accessing locations where there is a risk ofrevolution or other negative political conditions resulting in a loss).

Suitably, various embodiments of the present subject matter focus onproperty insurance applications. The drones with sensors may be used toassess perils connected with fire, theft, or weather damage. They can beused to fly over a forest fire, track a stolen piece of property, surveyroof damage, survey flood damage, and so on. They can be used to assessperils connected with earthquake insurance. Damage to an insured homecan be studied using the drones with sensors. For those with inlandmarine insurance, the use of the drones with sensors can gather datawithout having to navigate the area waters of the insured. Perilsconnected with boiler insurance can also be observed and risk assessed(such as in a situation where an installed boiler explodes causing firedamage to the house housing the boiler and neighboring houses.)

Other property insurance applications include the use of drones withsensors to assess perils connected with aviation insurance, such as ininspections of aircraft hulls and spares, and in assisting determinationof passenger and third-party liability. Other perils in this categoryinclude the use of drones with sensors to inspect perils connected withairports, such as air traffic control, refueling operations atinternational airports, and so on. Further property insuranceapplications include builder's risk insurance that allows perilsconnected with a construction site to be observed, including inspectionof material fixtures, and equipment used in construction or renovationof a building or structure. One other property insurance applicationincludes home insurance that uses drones with sensors to assess perilsof damage or destruction of an insured's home. An additional propertyinsurance application includes landlord insurance that allows inspectionof perils connected with residential and commercial properties rented toresidential renters or businesses.

One additional property insurance application includes the use of droneswith sensors to observe perils connected with marine insurance andmarine cargo insurance to observe losses or damage to vessels while atsea or in inland waterways. A further property insurance applicationincludes the use of drones with sensors to observe perils connected withinland marine insurance. These drones with sensors can be deployed tomonitor perils of goods in transit and property of others that is onsomeone's premise. The deployment could include waterways, but couldencompass property on land. The deployment avoids the need to send aperson to inspect the premise which may be extensive. Inland marineinsurance conventionally indemnifies loss to movable or specializedtypes property, historically developing as an outgrowth of ocean marineinsurance mentioned above. This category of insurance includes propertycoverage for construction equipment, medical diagnostic equipment, finearts, solar panels and wind turbines, cameras and movie equipment,musical instruments, and a wide variety of other types of property.Inland marine insurance covers a wide range of property and materials,such as property in transit; property in the custody of a bailee;property deemed to be an instrumentality of transportation orcommunication, such as bridges and radio towers; mobile medicalequipment; contractors equipment; and so on.

The use of drones with sensors may also assess perils connected withcargo in marine transit. A rare property insurance application includesthe use of drones with sensors to assess perils connected with terrorisminsurance, volcanic eruptions via volcano insurance, wind uncertainties(such as hurricanes, via windstorm insurance), bloodstock insurance toobserve perils connected with horses, Defense Base Act insurance toinspect perils connected with civilian workers hired by the governmentto work in foreign countries, expatriate insurance, kidnap and ransominsurance, livestock insurance to observe perils (such as thoseconnected with farms, aquariums, fish, and other animal holdings),nuclear incident insurance to inspect perils connected with radioactivematerials, and pollution insurance to observe perils connected withcontamination of air, water, or land due to accidental release ofhazardous materials from an insured site. Other deployment of droneswith sensors may also include assessing perils connected with insuranceCAT claims; mining and metals; railroad; aviation; water management andwater treatment; power and utilities; emergency services and civilprotection; agriculture and forest services; and so on.

Various embodiments of the present subject matter are directed togathering and storing data and images and transmitting the same in realtime or near real time or at a later time via drones with sensors tonetworked computing systems/platforms for use in connection with thecarrying on of the business of insurance and other insurance-relatedservice businesses. Using drones with sensors, the system captures andstreams motion video, still images, and other applicable data for thepurpose of monitoring conditions continuously or from time to time or asotherwise necessary and making assessments or documenting facts anddetails of the condition of properties, vehicles, or facilities andsurrounding areas and recording events impacting the same. Variousembodiments of the present subject matter eliminate or reduce safetyrisks to claims adjusters, eliminate the need for expensive truckrentals and related multisite visits and scheduling delays, and providefraud detection and loss prevention data. The present subject matterfacilitates better assessment of risk and adjustment of claims inhard-to-reach or hard-to-assess locations, such as buildings, privateproperties, medical rooms, waters, space, and so on. The conventionaluse of satellite positioning to obtain data is unsatisfactory because ofmisaligned positioning and the weather, such as clouds, which can impedeimage acquisition for insurance applications.

This subject matter may be practiced at the beginning of an insurance orservices relationship and may be used before, during, and after anyevent related to the target properties, vehicles, or facilities. In oneembodiment, for example, data, images or a combination collected orrecorded from the drones with sensors is transmitted to an insuranceapplication for an initial assessment of conditions and such informationcan be used as a comparison after use of the subject matter to performan inspection or assessment after an event or claim. This is only oneexample of the use of the subject matter and it will be capable of beingused in nearly any situation where aerial surveillance and gathering ofdata is relevant to carrying on the business of insurance; in particularit is relevant to underwriting practices and claims practices that relyupon facts regarding the condition of the target at any point in time.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, itwill be appreciated that various changes can be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a drone to collectsensor feedback data associated with an object, the method comprising:deploying, via a server, a drone to an object of interest bytransmitting one or more control signals to a controller that iscommunicatively connected with the drone, the drone comprising at leastone sensor in communication with the controller; operating, via thecontroller, the drone to position the drone adjacent the object ofinterest such that the drone interacts with the object; collectingsensor feedback data based at least in part on the interaction betweenthe drone and the object, the sensor feedback data being collectedthrough the at least one sensor; transmitting, over a network, thesensor feedback data to the controller; computing one or more observableparameters based on the transmitted sensor feedback data; detecting ageographic zone within which the drone is positioned; and causing, viainstructions transmitted from the controller, the at least one sensor ofthe drone to turn off when the geographic zone is subject to one or moregeographic restrictions.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingthe step of authenticating that the collected sensor feedback datarelating to the object corresponds to a targeted object of interest. 3.The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: prior tocollecting the sensor feedback data, transmitting, over the network, anindication of intent to interact with the object; and upon computing theone or more observable parameters, generating one or more dronefingerprints configured to provide a co-located chain of evidence forthe collected sensor feedback data.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein:the controller comprises a memory and a microprocessor; the one or moredrone fingerprints are stored in the memory of the drone; and themicroprocessors is configured to compute the one or more observableparameters.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein: the controller isconfigured to communicate with a server; and one or more of the dronefingerprints, the observable parameters, or the collected sensorfeedback data are periodically transmitted, by the controller, to theserver.
 6. The method of claim 3, wherein the drone fingerprint isselected from a group consisting of a 5-Digit Exemption Number, COANumber, FAA Tailfin Number, Operator/Pilot License Number, AirframeMake, Airframe Model, Airframe Serial Number, Flight Navigational SystemMake, Flight Navigational Model, Flight Navigational Version, FlightNavigation Firmware Version, Altitude, Speed, Heading, and Image NumberOver Total Number of Images.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein theobject of interest is one of: a parcel of land, a piece of personalproperty, or a facility.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one ormore geographic restrictions are drone-use restrictions.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the step of computing of the one or more observableparameters comprises the sub-steps of: via the controller, eithersensing or initiating hacking activities; and based upon the sensed orinitiated hacking activities, analyzing, via the controller, acybersecurity risk of the object.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein thestep of computing of the one or more observable parameters involvesanalyzing, via the controller, one or more structural characteristics ofthe object.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein: the recited steps occurat a first point in time for an initial assessment of conditionsassociated with the object; the recited steps are periodically repeatedat least a second point in time, the second point in time being afterthe first point in time; and the method further comprises the step ofcomparing, via the controller, the observable parameters computed at thesecond point in time with the observable parameters computed at thefirst point in time, so as to perform an inspection or assessment afteran event occurring between the first and second points in time.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the drone further comprises a thumpingstructure comprising: a thumping body; and a C-shaped thumping terminuslocated at the proximal end of the thumping body; and the interactionbetween the drone and the object occurs via the thumping structure. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein the interaction between the drone andthe object specifically comprises operating the drone such that theC-shaped thumping terminus physically contacts the object.
 14. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the drone further comprises an insulatorstructure that interfaces with an interfaced layer, the interfaced layeracting as a supporting joint to the thumping structure so as to providenon-destructive interaction between the drone and the object.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the thumping body emerges beyond thethumping structure, the thumping body lengthening from a thumping rodthrough a set of elongated, rigid thumping hollow elements whichterminate at the proximal end of the thumping body in the C-shapedthumping terminus, the set of thumping hollow elements including anoutermost thumping hollow element and an innermost thumping hollowelement, the set of thumping hollow elements having aligned longitudinalaxes and successively decreasing transverse dimensions to facilitateeach of the thumping hollow elements to axially slide there-between andpermitting the thumping body to pass through the inside of the set ofthumping hollow elements.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thethumping body is coupled to the thumping rod of which the distal endfinishes with a thumping stop, the thumping rod facilitating theextending and contracting of the thumping body depending on the motionof a second wheel in communication with a first wheel via a timing belt.17. The method of claim 1, wherein: the drone further comprises: aslidable cylindrical structure coupled to a bottom of the drone; and apiezoelectric transducer positioned adjacent one end of the slidablecylindrical structure; and the interaction between the drone and theobject occurs via the piezoelectric transducer emanating ultrasoundwaves toward the object.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein: the dronefurther comprises, emerging beyond the slidable cylindrical structure, atransducer body; and the transducer body lengthens from a rod through aset of elongated, rigid, slidable hollow elements which terminate at itsproximal end in the piezoelectric transducer, the set of slidable hollowelements including an outermost slidable hollow element and an innermostslidable hollow element, the set of slidable hollow elements havingaligned longitudinal axes and successively decreasing transversedimensions to facilitate each of the slidable hollow elements to axiallyslide there-between and permitting the transducer body to pass throughthe inside of the set of slidable hollow elements.
 19. The method ofclaim 18, wherein the transducer body is coupled to the rod of which thedistal end finishes with a stop, the rod facilitating the lengthening orshortening of the transducer body depending on the motion of a secondwheel which is in communication with a first wheel via a timing belt,the first wheel being actuated by a shaft which is in communication witha vermiculate device.